The Evolution in the Elevator
by forensicsfan
Summary: Take one FBI Special Agent add one Forensic Anthropologist, put them in an elevator, blow in a blizzard, take away the power, and throw in some well placed annoying questions from one Shrink and this is what might just happen afterwards. B and B.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, I didn't create them, and I don't profit from them.

**Author's Note:** This is dedicated to all of my Bones Breakfast Club Tweeps. You know who you are.

* * *

The jangle of the bell on the door to the Royal Diner announced the entrance of another patron, but the sound barely registered in Seeley Booth's ears. He was far more interested in giving his partner a bad time for stealing another fry from his plate. "I'm pretty sure that salad and fries sort of cancel each other out, Bones."

Her eyebrows shot up in protest at his teasing. "What? They taste good, and you really shouldn't be eating all of that saturated fat, especially with the way you're consuming that burger as if you hadn't eaten in a week." All good natured banter that had been going back and forth between them for years, only something had shifted in recent days since they'd been stuck together in that elevator. Case in point, they were sitting next to each other at the table rather than across the way they usually did. Nothing seemed very usual between them anymore, but it was in an unusually good way.

"Burgers and fries were meant to be together, like pie and ice cream." He was very much looking forward to having a slice of pie to go along with his lunch and thought that maybe he should remind Celia that anytime would be a good time to bring it over and so he glanced towards the counter only to have his view blocked by a pair of rumpled khakis. He looked up to see who was blocking his view of the pie and his eyes widened.

"Hey yah, Shrimp. Got room for me and my lady friend Bernice to sit with you and Temperance?" The old man had an infectious smile on his face as if it was an everyday occurrence for him to show up unannounced in the middle of the day with some hot senior lady in tow.

"Pops, what are you doing here?" Booth had a sinking feeling that something was up down at the old folks home and _who_ in the world was this Bernice person? He glanced around and frowned. _Where_ was this Bernice person? Was Pops towing the line of senility?

"Is your hearing okay? I just told you, I wanted you to meet my lady friend, Bernice." He smiled again, this time looking over at Temperance. "Hope you're not too disappointed that I'm off the market, Shrimp here is probably more your type, especially now that Barbie has gone back to dazzle folks with her reporting across the globe."

"Hank, where is this friend of yours?" Brennan could see that Booth was concerned about his grandfather especially since he had mentioned this friend twice now and she was nowhere to be found.

Hank Booth hooked a thumb towards the door. "She's out looking for a place to park her Buick." He smiled again at the woman he knew deep down was meant for his grandson. Now if only Shrimp would wake up and smell the romance.

"What do you mean she's out parking her Buick?" Booth's brow furrowed even more as his grandfather sat down across from him and Bones. "There's plenty of parking right out front." In fact there was enough room along the curb in front of the diner for three cars.

Hank Booth chose the seat across from the prettier half of the partners and smiled before answering Seeley's question. "Classic car buff, she doesn't want to get any door dings in her fifty-four Century."

Brennan glanced over at Booth who still seemed slightly agitated at the unexpected appearance of his grandfather. "Apparently this love of classic cars runs in the family." She gently nudged Booth with her elbow to break him out of his self imposed funk and to remind him not to jump to conclusions.

"Maybe the two of you could go for a ride with Bernice and me." The older man was feeling a bit of mischief. "Course you two would have to sit in the backseat and behave yourselves."

"That could be quite fun, but Booth might insist in getting into some trouble." Brennan smirked in amusement as Hank laughed at her remarks.

"Did you have her bust you out?" Booth popped a fry in his mouth as he regarded Pops suspiciously. Having him out gallivanting around DC couldn't be a good thing. The last time he was here and out on his own, it seemed he had to be constantly bailed out of trouble. The last thing he needed were _two_ senior citizens to keep track of while he and Bones were in the middle of a case.

"No, she didn't bust me out. It's a retirement home, not a penitentiary. If you're that confused, maybe you need a vacation. When was the last time you took a vacation?" He gave his grandson one of those 'don't shoot me a load of crap' looks and then just as quickly his expression melted into the smile of a man clearly smitten. He took a little effort to stand up. "Bernice!"

Booth glanced over and smirked as an older woman who had all the marks of being able to kick Pops' ass, sashayed her way right over to the man in question and planted a kiss right on his lips.

"Hey, there, Sparky." Bernice winked and then turned her attention to the other two people at the table before she plunked herself down in an available seat. "This your grandson and his gal you've been talking about so much?"

"Seeley Booth, ma'am." Booth cleared his throat as he stood up and reached over to shake her hand. Not quite sure how to answer the question about Bones, he simply gestured towards her in introduction before he sat down again. "This is my partner Temperance Brennan."

"You still going with that just partners crap?" Hank Booth wasn't pulling any punches as he sized up the situation.

"We are in fact partners." Brennan smiled. Things beyond that moniker were undefined for now, but she was hopeful that at some point in the future when they were both ready that they would cross that path.

Bernice gently jabbed Hank in the side with her elbow. "Sparky, you need to get with the times, that's what all the young folks are calling it these days."

"It's very nice to meet you, Bernice. How long have you and Hank been a romantic item?" Brennan took the opportunity to sneak another one of Booth's fries and plunk it into her mouth.

"See, I told you she'd be a little disappointed that I was taken." Hank puffed his chest out in true Booth fashion and then let out an amused chuckle as Bernice elbowed him in the gut.

"Sparky, I've got a feeling she's doing just fine." Bernice smirked and then turned her attention to the pair across the table. "I've heard so much about you two since Hank swept me off my feet a couple of months ago."

"A couple of months?" Booth's eyebrows arched slowly as he looked at Pops. "And you didn't think to mention it?" Of course it had been a while since he'd made the trek up to visit Pops so maybe he only had himself to blame for not knowing.

"Booth, he probably thought you'd run a background check on Bernice." Brennan looked over at the elder Booth to see an expression that only confirmed her suspicions.

"Nothing to hide here." Bernice smirked. "Besides, I haven't exactly told my family either." She almost felt like a teenager sneaking around behind her parents' backs and she was enjoying every minute of it.

"So where's your family from?" Booth had casually slipped into interrogation mode as he noticed Bones stealing another fry from his plate while the corners of his mouth twitched up into one of his patented charm smiles.

"They're all out west. Tired of being dragged all around the country so when I said I wanted to retire on the east coast, they said they were staying put." Bernice inched a little closer to Hank and motioned to the waitress for a couple of coffees.

"Dragged all around the country?" Brennan was intrigued. "Did you participate in a nomadic lifestyle?" There were estimated to be over a million Romani people living in the United States that most people referred to as Gypsies. She was fascinated at the discovery that Bernice might be one of them.

"You could say that." Bernice smiled. "My Charlie and I were long haul truckers for years and later when the kids were born, we just couldn't shake the travel bug and so we'd up and move every couple of years so we could learn about another part of the country. Started restoring old cars and selling them as a way to make extra money so we didn't have to worry so much about getting a job right away when we moved. Stopped traveling when my Charlie took sick some years back. He passed on about seven years ago."

"A trucker?" Booth was impressed that a lady as pint sized as Bernice could handle a rig that size.

"Yep, and don't you forget it, Shrimp." Hank interjected as he slung an arm around Bernice's shoulders. "She could kick both of our asses with her hands tied behind her back just like Temperance over there."

"I have never actually attempted to kick someone's ass while being handcuffed. I believe the other party would have the advantage." Brennan considered the statistical probability of succeeding in that scenario.

"Bones, I think he just means that you're both tough women." Booth whispered loudly.

"Ah." Of course that made far more sense and she glanced over to the couple sitting opposite. "Hank, I like her." Brennan smiled and then nudged Booth with her elbow. "What do you think, Booth?"

Booth smiled as Celia finally remembered to bring his pie and coffees for the new pair at the table. As his fork dug into the pie, he chuckled. "I want to know more about the classic cars."


	2. Chapter 2

"Hank seems to be very happy with Bernice." Brennan smiled and glanced over at her partner who seemed to be gripping the steering wheel a little tighter than necessary.

"He should have told me that he was seeing her." Booth's jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth together. The traffic just had to back up like this when he and Bones had a lead to chase down. They couldn't even linger over lunch to try and find out a little more about Bernice and if she was really all she claimed to be.

"I'm sure he didn't want to say anything in case things didn't work out." It seemed to her that Hank didn't want to make his family worry about him.

"Oh, great. I didn't even think about _that_." His head swiveled towards his partner. "You think it's _that_ serious between them?" He swallowed hard.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Booth, he's a grown man. And watch the road." To emphasize her point, a couple of car horns sounded their annoyance.

"I _am_ watching the road." He turned his eyes back to the road and made a slight correction with the steering wheel. He fell silent for a moment.

"Do you think it's a bad thing if they _are_ serious?" With all of his idealism about true love and happily ever after, she was a little surprised that maybe he didn't want that for his grandfather as well. Especially considering the stories she'd heard about how happy Hank had been with Booth's grandmother before she'd passed away.

"No." He paused a beat. "I don't know. Maybe." He snuffed out a breath. "It just worries me that maybe he's not making the most rational decisions." It wasn't as if Pops had a stellar short term memory these days.

"Since when is love rational?" A tiny smirk played at her lips as she considered the irony of his words.

"Good point, Bones." He gave her one of those looks that made it clear that he was a bit surprised at her statement. She had certainly come far from spouting her line about chemical reactions and all that mumbo jumbo. He felt the corners of his mouth quirk upwards.

"You should have a little faith in Hank that he knows what he's doing." Her smirk turned into a smile as she glanced out the window.

"What did you do with my Bones?" His eyebrow was quirked at her oddly. Someone had really grown leaps and bounds and it hadn't been him.

"I didn't do anything with your bones." She returned the odd look. "I would presume that since you are currently driving that all of your bones are intact."

"Not my _bones_, Bones. My _Bones_. _You_." He snorted out a chuckle as he considered that he was _really_ going to have to work to catch up if she was evolving this quickly.

"I'm right here. I'm not sure what you mean." She was also beginning to wonder if the worry that Booth had over his grandfather was causing him to develop some mental confusion.

"You're talking about faith and love like it's something you haven't been completely skeptical of for about as long as I've known you. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but I'm just not used to those phrases coming out of _your_ mouth." He was incredulous really.

"I've evolved, just like you have." She had that soft lilting tone that revealed a hint of self consciousness and vulnerability.

"Yeah, you have." He couldn't help the full blown smile from spreading across his face, but it didn't squelch the worry he felt over Pops jumping into some hot romance with someone he really didn't know much about.

They lapsed into silence for a few moments as they inched along in the midday traffic.

"What if this Bernice isn't who she says she is? What if she's just stringing Pops along? I don't want him to get hurt just because he's the most eligible bachelor down at Willow River Retirement Home." Booth looked pensive.

"Why would she do that?" Her brows furrowed together. It wasn't as if they had any reason to doubt that Bernice was who she said she was.

"I don't know, Bones, it's just that Pops hasn't dated anyone since my grandmother passed away." His tone was earnest.

Brennan laughed. "Do you really think that Hank hasn't dated? He seemed very popular with the ladies when I first met him. I highly doubt that he's practiced celibacy."

"Don't say that." Booth visibly winced. "I can't think of him doing _that_."

"It's a fact of life Booth. He's a man and I'm quite sure he's got the same biological imperative that the rest of us do. I believe he referred to it as crocheting." She glanced over.

"I'd rather not think about it." He wasn't a prude about sex, but right now he certainly felt like he was. Thinking about Pops being the man was right up there with thinking about your parents doing the deed.

"Just because you don't want to think about it doesn't mean that it isn't a fact." She was simply stating the obvious.

"You're right." He looked concerned. "Maybe I should talk with him."

"I'm pretty sure he knows about sex, Booth." She let out a deep laugh at the ridiculous assumption that Hank was somehow naive.

"Of _course_ he knows about sex. Who do you think gave _me_ the sex talk?" His right brow arched at her. "I just mean he's taking all of these medications. Should he even be having sex?"

"Oh, right. Yes, that _is_ a valid concern. You should talk with him. You wouldn't want him to suffer a cardiac arrest during intercourse." While it would certainly be a pleasurable way to trigger a heart attack, the attack itself would be highly unpleasant and could very likely be fatal.

"Great. Now I have to have the sex talk with my grandfather." It was bad enough that he was going to have to start having bits and pieces of the talk with Parker, he hadn't ever considered that he might have to sit down with Pops and talk about it with him too.

"Or you could talk to his doctor. Although, with doctor patient confidentiality, it's unlikely he or she could tell you anything." She felt sympathetic to Booth's quandary.

"Maybe you could help me...you know, you talk to Bernice, I'll talk to Pops and make sure he's not skipping any of his pills." That had already been a concern in the past and if he was at the retirement home there were people making sure he was taking them. Who knew how frequently he and Bernice went on these little drives and how long they were gone.

"Sure, I'd be happy to help." She reached over and patted Booth on the arm and offered him a supportive smile.

Booth pulled up to the curb where they were going to follow up on a lead in their case. "Thanks, Bones." Now they just had to get through the rest of the day so he could get back to figuring out whether he should be worry about Pops and his lady friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Special thanks to ceeray3 for her well thought out feedback as I wrote this. And well wishes for her to feel better soon.

* * *

"Pops, what were you thinking?" Booth looked exasperated as he herded his grandfather and his lady friend into his apartment.

"We were just out having a good time, Shrimp." Hank looked annoyed that he'd had to be bailed out of the local jail by his FBI grandson.

"By getting arrested?" Booth turned to look at Bernice who seemed completely unflustered by the whole situation. "Why couldn't the two of you find a normal night club? Or better yet, a shuffleboard tournament."

"It wasn't our intention to get arrested. I just didn't want them manhandling my car." Bernice had been sure that having all of those bikes parked so close to her fifty-four Century was a scratch waiting to happen.

"But a biker bar? Do you two have a death wish?" Booth blinked. "Wait, don't answer that." If they in fact did have a death wish, he most certainly did not want to know about it.

"You say 'biker bar' like it's a bad thing, Shrimp. I've been in worse dives in my day." Besides, he and Bernice were enjoying living on the edge a little bit. "Most of those guys wouldn't harm a fly."

"It's not the _most_ of them that I'm worried about. All it takes is one. Like the one whose bike you backed over." He turned his attention to Bernice. "Did you think that maybe since they were such _nice_ guys you couldn't just ask them to move out of the way?"

"I _did_ ask. He had the audacity to tell me to bug off in not so many words." Bernice sized up Booth, she was sure she could take him if push came to shove. She had raised kids of her own and he didn't intimidate her at all.

"He called her an old bag. Nobody calls a lady an old bag." Pops puffed his chest out. "Especially not _my_ lady." He was a Booth to the core, chivalrous to a fault.

"And I told you I could hold my own, Sparky." Bernice could deny it all day long, but she appreciated the gesture.

"So you took a swing at a guy named 'Butch' in a biker bar and made a run for it." His hands were on his hips and if this was anyone else's grandfather he might have found the whole scenario amusing. He was having a hard time even cracking a smile.

"And I nailed him. He went down like a full potato sack too." Pops chuckled and then gestured by pounding his fist into his hand. "Wham-o!"

Booth rubbed the back of his neck and then shook his head. "And now you're facing possible assault charges along with hit and run." This was no small deal and although he had plenty of law enforcement experience, he was at a complete loss on how to deal with the situation.

"Only if he decides to press charges." Bernice piped up from where she'd made herself at home on Booth's couch.

"And if he _does_ press charges, what do you think you're going to do?" Booth knew he should have done a background check on Bernice. Maybe if he _had_ her penchant for biker bars would have come up, and even if it hadn't, maybe there would be something else in there that probably just would have endeared her to Pops even more. He let out a resigned sigh and looked over at the pair of trouble makers. "Do either of you want a beer? Because right now, I could really use one."

"Sure, Shrimp." Pops looked mostly sorry about the pickle he'd gotten himself into.

"We didn't mean to interrupt whatever it was that we were interrupting." Bernice smiled sweetly at him. Her implication was clear that she hoped that whatever it was they'd interrupted wasn't romantic in nature.

A soft knock sounded at the door along with a muffled voice coming through it. "Booth."

"Crap. I was supposed to pick Bones up at the lab and I completely forgot." They were supposed to just grab a quick bite to eat and then take the paperwork back to his place to work on, and here he was sure that she thought she'd been stood up or maybe she'd been so busy that she hadn't even noticed the part about how he missed dinner. He couldn't help but smile as he opened the door. "Hey, Bones."

"I thought we were meeting at the lab." She didn't seem at all upset about the fact that she'd had to track him down, and judging from the bags of take out she was carrying, she wasn't worried about eating either.

"I sort of had something to deal with first. Sorry." He wasn't sure how he was going to explain the trouble Pops and Bernice had gotten into to the Queen of Finding Trouble.

"Temperance!" Pops smiled. "Hope Bernice and I aren't cramping yours and Shrimp's style."

"I don't know what that means." She looked at Booth quizzically and wondered if she had misunderstood him, she didn't think she had so she carefully put the bags of take out down on the coffee table since there was more than enough food for all of them.

"Pops and Bernice got themselves arrested starting a fight in a biker bar and running down a Harley with Bernice's car." Booth thought that summed things up nicely.

Brennan had a skeptical expression on her face and then her eyebrows shot up. "Oh, you're serious." She looked at Hank and Bernice. "That's very serious."

"Serious as a heart attack." Booth shot Pops a look and then glanced over at Bernice. "Maybe we all should sit down and talk about a few things."

"Oh, did you want to discuss the issue of sexual intercourse with them now?" Brennan thought it was a perfect opportunity since they were all gathered in one location. She settled herself in a chair near the coffee table.

"I taught Shrimp here everything he knows. Maybe he needs a few pointers." Pops let out a hearty chuckle.

"It's not like we're teenagers." Bernice was visibly amused at whatever it was that these two presumably wanted to discuss with them.

"Bones, you didn't think maybe we could have eased into the conversation." Booth looked positively mortified as he stood there, willing for the rug to swallow him up.

"Well you said you had some concerns, I just wanted to make sure that they were addressed." She smiled at him clearly looking like she had made him uncomfortable again.

"Are the two of you having issues in the bedroom?" A tiny smirk toyed at the edge of Bernice's smile.

The partners answered in unison. "No!"

"Oh, so things are fine then. Are you looking for some advice to spice things up?" Pops thought maybe Barbie had shot Shrimp's confidence a little so maybe he needed to know that as long as Temperance was happy he shouldn't complain.

Again the partners spoke at the same time. "Booth and I don't sleep together." "I'm not sleeping with Bones."

The older couple replied as one. "Why not?"

Silence reigned for a full beat and then Booth attempted to set the whole mess right. "We're not talking about _our_ sex life."

"Doesn't sound like you even have one. Seems a shame really." Pops glanced from one to the other in bewilderment.

Brennan thought perhaps a more logical approach was a far better idea since it seemed that everyone was jumping to conclusions. She got right to the point and directed her attention to Hank. "Booth was concerned that perhaps you might be physically endangering yourself by engaging in intercourse with your health issues. Have you discussed it with your doctor and gone over your medications?"

"Pshaw." Hank offered a dismissive wave. "Been declared fit as a fiddle to engage in as much crocheting as I want."

"It's true." Bernice had a knowing smile. "And I make sure he's up to date on all of his medications so there's nothing to worry about."

"Oh, good." Brennan seemed pleased that things had been sufficiently clarified. "Are you two hungry? I'm sure that there's more than enough for all four of us."

"Shrimp, go get those beers you were talking about earlier before Temperance stopped by." Pops glanced over at his grandson who still looked a bit horrified.

"Now I want to hear about this biker bar situation that got you both arrested." Brennan began pulling cartons of food out of the bag and she could see Booth going into the kitchen and pulling plates out of the cupboard along with the requested beer.

"Ah, that's small potatoes." Again, Hank offered a dismissive wave. He glanced over at Bernice with a conspiratorial smile before he looked at Temperance, noting the Shrimp was on his way over to where they sat around the coffee table. "What I want to know is why the two of you aren't together yet."


	4. Chapter 4

"I hope you realize just how lucky the two of you are." Booth directed his comments at the elderly couple who were acting a little too cozy on his couch. He had just gotten off the phone with the local precinct who had handled the whole scuffle in the first place and he wanted to make sure that he talked a little sense into the elderly teenagers.

"We know how lucky we are, you don't find true love all that often at our age." Hank smirked at his grandson, knowing that he was ruffling up his feathers and enjoying every minute of it. Of course what he'd said was true, but he knew that it wasn't what Shrimp had meant.

"Which is why I don't understand why the two of you are pussyfooting around what appears to be some very obvious attraction." Bernice threw in her two cents worth because she thought that it was only right that everyone got to be as happy as she and Sparky were. Besides the unresolved sexual tension between the younger pair was crackling like a live wire down in the middle of a storm.

"I don't know what that means." Brennan pursed her lips and then turned towards Booth to see if he had any idea what this reference to pussyfooting meant. She had no doubt that they shared an attraction to each other, but they weren't quite ready to act on it no matter what those around them had been saying for years.

"Look." Booth's tone was a bit harsher than he'd intended, but it was about time that someone, namely him, talked some sense into these senior citizens. "I'm talking about the charges you were facing. It's a good thing that 'Butch' didn't want to press them. It seems that he'd rather repair the damage to his ego and his Harley than drag out the fact that he was bested by you." For now Pops and Bernice were off the hook, but that didn't mean he was going to turn them loose to create more havoc before they could be returned to the Willow River Retirement Community. He was just going to have to figure out how to get them back up there and still be on top of the case.

"So I guess we can be on our way then." Hank popped up and smiled broadly, offering his hand to Bernice as if they were just going to waltz right out the door and leave the two kids alone. If there were no charges to face then they were footloose and fancy free.

"On your way where? At this hour?" Booth had a single eyebrow raised and trained on the pair. He wondered to himself if they were pushing the senility button.

"Booth is right, with Bernice's car in the shop for repair you're not likely to get very far. You could at least stay for the night and then I'm sure he'll be happy to drive you home in the morning." Brennan thought that was a very logical argument.

Hank stopped in his tracks and eyed the Duo of Denial. "They have hotels in this city don't they?" Surely he and his lady love could bunk for the night for a rack rate, it wasn't like every hotel in town had to be full up.

"There is no reason to spend money on a hotel when you could stay here." Booth knew that his grandfather was on a limited income and the last thing he needed was to blow three hundred dollars or more on a hotel room for the night. Besides this way he could keep his sniper senses on high alert in case they tried to make a break for it and get into more trouble.

"It's not a pull out couch, Shrimp." Hank smirked. Sure it did him fine when he'd stayed with him before, but it wasn't anywhere close to satisfactory for him and Bernice to share.

"Fine, you and Bernice can stay in my room." Booth inwardly cringed at the idea. "And I'll just sleep on the couch." Which was akin to not getting any sleep at all.

"Then it's all settled." Bernice smiled, Seeley seemed like such a nice boy.

"Booth, What about your back? If you sleep on your couch, your lower lumbar region will undoubtedly suffer ill effects." Brennan was concerned. They were in the middle of a murder investigation and she really didn't want her partner sidelined because he'd strained his lower lumbar region. More than a few times she'd used her knowledge of Kinesiology to help relieve his pain.

"You can fix it with your magic fingers." Booth offered his best charming smile. It wasn't as if there really was any other option than his stupid couch.

"My fingers aren't magical." Brennan let out a soft laugh.

Hank sat back down and whispered to Bernice. "This is getting good."

"Well they both can't share the couch." Booth was sure that suggesting he sleep with Pops was out of the question, at least in his mind. The last thing he needed was for Pops to mistake him for Bernice in the middle of the night. That was all kinds of wrong he just didn't want to think about.

"I have a guest room. They could stay with me." Her apartment was more than large enough to accommodate guests, so she could see no reason for Hank and Bernice to cram themselves on Booth's couch, or worse, his floor.

"I can't let you put Pops and his lady friend up for the night." He really couldn't think of a single reason why except that he was a man and somehow he felt less manly not coming up with such a great solution first.

Three voices answered in unison. "Why not?"

"If you're feeling left out, Shrimp, I'm sure Temperance wouldn't mind if you came for the sleepover." Hank Booth knew a thing or two about creating mischief and this was a situation ripe for throwing in a little here and there.

"Yes, and my couch is far more comfortable than yours is, for sleeping that is." Brennan smirked. Booth had logged plenty of time napping on her couch, so he should be personally familiar with the concept.

"Although, I'll bet her bed is big enough for both of them, Sparky." Bernice whispered under her breath to Hank.

"And we could finish up the paperwork from the Gibson case before our meeting with Caroline in the morning." Brennan seemed to think that things had all been worked out nicely.

Hank muttered under his breath. "So that's what they're calling it these days."

"I don't know, Bones. I don't want to impose." The reality was that Booth wasn't feeling so angry these days and he was edging closer and closer to that magic date he scribbled on a piece of paper and then burned.

"I wouldn't have offered if I thought you'd be imposing." She smiled softly at her partner and considered that maybe someday soon they might both be ready to cross that line once and for all and all of this conversation of imposing would be a moot point.

Bernice whispered to Hank softly. "When those two get together it's gonna be fireworks."

Hank chuckled softly in return as the partners settle the issue of where everyone was going to stay for the night. "He's a Booth, what did you expect?"


	5. Chapter 5

Booth should have firmly put his foot down, however, he seemed to get all caught up in the whirlwind that Pops and Bernice had created and somehow he found himself laying on Bones' couch at one in the morning staring at the ceiling because he realized that there was really no legitimate reason for him to be there. Paperwork going long aside, _he_ was not the one who required a place to sleep. He had his own very comfortable bed not all that far away and yet here he was essentially camping because he felt bad that Bones had offered her guest room to his grandfather and Bernice. He let out a sigh. It wasn't that Bones' couch wasn't cozy, it was, he was having a hard time justifying to himself _why_ he was sleeping there. Any reason that came to mind sounded like a lame excuse to be that much closer to just sleeping _with_ her. He wasn't sure he had let go enough of his anger to be able to take that chance with her and it was a chance that he didn't want to blow because he knew once they crossed the line that it was going to be an all or nothing venture.

A soft tap sounded at the front door and then a click that didn't sound very key-like seemed to be working the lock.

Booth's sniper senses kicked into overdrive as he slowly slipped off the couch and reached for his gun. He didn't like the idea of a late night visitor breaking into his partner's home. As the door creaked open he took the safety off his gun and tucked himself into the kitchen.

The door clicked shut and the intruder unceremoniously flicked the light switch as if he owned the place. He whirled around as he heard the distinct sound of the slide on a Glock as it pulled a bullet into the chamber and raised his hands as well as his eyebrows at what he saw. "Booth, what are you doing in Tempe's kitchen in your underwear?"

Booth hadn't given a single thought to his attire or how it might look if someone stopped by because he hadn't considered that anyone other than the people already in the apartment would have any reason to be here. He uncocked his gun and put the safety on. "Max, what the hell are _you_ doing here at this hour?"

Undeterred, Max simply smiled and ignored Booth's question. "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing tromping around Tempe's apartment in your underwear? Are the two of you finally an item?"

Booth let out a sigh and inwardly chastised himself for not going home to his own bed where he belonged, at least for now. "And you didn't answer my question, what are you doing breaking into Bones' apartment in the middle of the night?"

"You first." Max smirked. "Call it a father's right to know."

Booth snorted. "He says to the man with the gun." He leveled one of those laser stares at Max and figured he could just wait him out as he placed the gun on the counter.

"She's not in danger is she?" Leave to him to be out of town for a few days only to have some new psycho killer going after his baby girl.

"No, she's sleeping." Booth kept his voice down because he didn't need an entire entourage traipsing out into the living room to inspect his Flyer's boxers.

Apparently, they hadn't been quiet enough.

Brennan emerged from her bedroom at the sound of voices in the other room. She had a robe cinched around her and her hair was sufficiently mussed up from the couple of hours of sleep she'd gotten. "Dad, what are you doing…oh, it was tonight you were coming back into town."

"You forgot." Max sighed.

"Yes, I did." She smiled at her father as she walked over and pressed a kiss against his cheek not really finding it unusual to have Booth standing there in his underwear with a gun on the counter next to him.

"And you have company." The way he phrased it implied that Booth was more than just company and that he was obviously interrupting something.

She completely missed it. "Yes, I do. Booth's grandfather and his significant other are in the guest room. They unexpectedly were in town, got arrested and needed a place to stay for the night when he bailed them out. Booth's place was too small."

"So your father was _supposed_ to be stopping by in the middle of the night?" Booth glanced over at Bones and realized that her father was still trying to figure out what the sleeping arrangements were.

"His landlord is replacing the flooring in his apartment so I told him he could stay here when he got back from visiting Russ and Amy." It wasn't like she'd never had her father stay with her since they'd begun rebuilding their relationship.

"Just a few days at most." Max smirked. "Of course if I'm interrupting something, I could go stay at a hotel." He looked from Tempe to Booth and back again for some telltale sign that maybe something might be happening here. So far neither of had either confirmed or denied his assumption.

Brennan quickly assessed the situation. "There's no need for you to leave, Dad. I'm sure we can find a place for you to sleep."

"I've slept on the couch before, I'm sure it'll be just fine." Max smiled one of those smiles that made you wonder what was spinning behind all of the gears in his mind.

"Uh, actually, the couch is currently taken." Booth piped up from the kitchen and let out a yawn as he ruffled his fingers through his hair with one hand, his other hand planted on his hip.

"Yes, Booth is sleeping on the couch." She was trying to remember if Russ had left behind the air-bed he'd brought when he and Amy last visited with the girls.

"I'm sure the floor will be fine. Just give me a blanket and I'll sleep like a dream." Max's tone clearly implied that it would be far better if Booth and Tempe just gave in and shared her bed while he took the couch.

Sure that he was going to get an earful, Booth offered up the couch. "Look, you take the couch, I'll take the floor. I wasn't getting any sleep anyway."

Brennan glanced over at him with a concerned expression. "I thought that my couch would offer you excellent lower lumbar support."

Booth smiled at her. "Oh, it does." He fished out a the first plausible reason he could think of. "Just thinking about the case and getting Pops and Bernice back to Willow River."

"Tempe maybe Booth could share with you. I mean you wouldn't want his back to hurt in the morning and your bed is so big." Max knew he was pushing it as the words tumbled out of his mouth and he garnered a glare from Booth and a slightly flustered expression from Tempe.

"Dad!" Clearly everyone in her sphere of influence thought that she and Booth should just get together already, but it was a step that they had to decide to take together and she didn't want to be pushed into it.

"Okay, fine, the floor it is." There was no way he was going to take the couch away from Booth now.

"I believe I have an inflatable bed you can use." She hoped that it was in the closet where Russ had said he'd left it and she turned to go look.

Max raised his brows, clearly he was off the mark about his hopes that they'd finally gotten together. "Nice shorts by the way, but I think the Bruins are going to kick their ass this year."

Booth didn't take the bait - he just narrowed his eyes, leaned in and spoke softly so that Max was clear about the way things were before Bones came back. "Back off, Max. You know I like you, but you push at me and Bones and you ruin the one chance we're going to have by making it happen too soon and I'll kick your ass from here to Sunday. Got it?"

"Sure, sure." Max couldn't have been happier if Booth had just asked if it was okay for him to marry his daughter. The fact that he hadn't outright denied that something was there between them was as good as gold. He was a patient man. He would just watch and wait. At least he knew now that they were both in the game.


	6. Chapter 6

"Whoa, what is this, the opposite of Take Your Kid to Work Day?" Hodgins looked completely amused as he directed Angela's attention to the entourage following Dr. B through the lab towards her office.

"Is that Booth's grandfather?" Angela pulled a face and immediately abandoned what she was working on and made her way out the door, completely oblivious to what Hodgins was saying behind her.

"Max, I really don't think that the three of you driving around in a car together is a good idea." Booth twirled his finger at those he was trying to encompass in the trio. The idea of sending these three particular senior citizens out together seemed akin to letting loose a tornado of trouble on the District.

"I'm an excellent driver." Max smirked at Booth. "Besides, you and Tempe have your meeting with that scary woman and it'll save you a trip up to Willow River." He really was hoping to sway the pair so they could beat it out of here before Caroline Julian showed up.

"He's right, Booth, we still have a number of leads to follow up on and there's no reason to keep them here with nothing to do all day." Brennan didn't understand why Booth couldn't appreciate the logic of the situation.

"You know, Shrimp, Bernice and I managed to get down here all by ourselves, it's not like we're a couple of kindergarteners on our first trip on the school bus." Hank glanced around the room with a delighted smirk on his face.

"Sparky's right. Besides, Temperance, your father seems like a very nice man. I'm a very good judge of character." Bernice winked at the younger pair conspiratorially, not really understanding the mine field she'd just walked into.

"See, she's a very good judge of character." Max beamed.

Booth felt like he had a group of teenager asking him if they could stay out past their curfew. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Angela great with child walking as quickly as she could in their direction. The last thing he needed was to add another person to this whole mix when he and Bones had a case to work on. "Fine. But don't dawdle, these two are about as likely to find trouble as you are Max, and I'm pretty sure that none of you are interested in seeing the business side of a jail cell again anytime soon."

"Okay, looks like we're good to go." Before anyone could change their minds, he quickly grabbed the keys that Tempe offered to her Prius and began to usher Hank and Bernice towards the doorway, offering a friendly smile as they passed by Angela.

Angela looked back at the elder set leaving as she waddled into Brennan's office. "What was that all about?" Her gaze narrowed at her favorite non-couple trying to detect hints that something might be going on underneath the surface.

"Oh, my dad is taking Booth's grandfather and his girlfriend back to their retirement home because her car was put in the shop after they were arrested last night." Brennan quickly answered Angela's question as Booth tried to organize the stack of needed paperwork for their meeting with Caroline.

Angela nearly choked on her tongue. "What?" She looked over at Booth who seemed to be a little too tense.

Brennan continued her narrative of the events. "Apparently, Hank punched a man in a biker bar." Her lips twitched into a smile. She could tell that Angela was interested in squeezing her for information, but she didn't think that Booth wanted her to say any more given the look he was shooting her direction.

"Biker bar?" Angela laughed out a disbelieving tone. "Booth, what was your grandfather doing in a biker bar?"

"That's what I'd like to know." He snuffed out an annoyed breath, his resolve at keeping this all under wraps eroding. "He says they were just having a good time. It's just a good thing that 'Butch' decided not to press charges since they ran over his Harley."

"And so how did Max get all mixed up in this?" Angela was definitely confused. It seemed that quite a bit had transpired since she and Hodgins had left last night at the stroke of five.

"He stayed at my place last night. The floors at his apartment are being redone." Brennan sank down onto the couch next to Booth and began to lay out her own files for the meeting.

"Broke into your place in the middle of the night is more like it." Apparently, Booth's attempt to mumble under his breath came out a lot louder than he'd intended.

"I was expecting him, Booth. I just forgot which night he was supposed to be here. I'm sorry if he made disparaging remarks about your choice of underwear." Brennan didn't quite grasp the implication of what had just come out of mouth since Booth had slept on her couch, something he'd done a time or two or fifty before when they'd worked too long on a case.

"Oh." As if a switch had been turned on, Angela's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Is there something the two of you want to tell me?" She had that tone in her voice and a look on her face that clearly said that Brennan was going to have to dish some very serious details later if she wasn't willing to share them right this second.

"No." Booth's tone was gruff. "Bones offered up her guest room to Pops and Bernice because my place isn't really big enough. I ended up on the couch because we were trying to get ready for this meeting." As if the emphasize his point he made a sweeping gesture to all of the paperwork sitting on the table in front of them. "Caroline is going to be here any minute, so unless you have anything case related…" He let his words trail off. The woman was pregnant after all, and he was sure somewhere in her hormone laced mind that she only wanted the best for Bones and him. The thing was so did he and he was going to be damned certain no well intentioned pushing was going to push them together before their time.

Angela's sly grin slid across her face as she tapped her fingers against the controller she'd walked out of her office with so abruptly. "Brennan, we'll have to do lunch soon. I want to hear all about this little sleep over."

"Booth just told you about it." She looked at her friend a bit oddly.

"Of course he did." Angela simply smirked in return.

"Goodbye, Angela." Booth didn't even glance up; he simply shifted the papers around on the table hoping she'd get the hint.

"Goodbye, Studly." With a wink, she turned and waddled back to her office.

"I'm not sure why she was so interested in why you were all at my apartment. She must just want more details on why Hank and Bernice were arrested." She gave a sideways glance to Booth.

He tried to restrain his smile. "I'm sure that's it." He shook his head and chuckled softly and then glanced at her again. "By the way, your dad snores like a chainsaw."

"That would be impossible. A chainsaw is a piece of machinery." She could see the corners of his mouth twitching into a full wattage grin and she laughed. "Oh, you're saying that Dad snores the way a chainsaw sounds."

"Not just the way it sounds, but the whole vibration thing too." He reached out both hands as if he had his hands on an actual chain saw. "Bwahh, buuu, bbbu, buuujszzzzusuzsh."

She laughed at his antics and then her expression softened. "So did you not get enough sleep then?"

"Ah, I'll just grab some coffee later." He smiled at her and before he could let himself get lost in the way she was looking at him, he heard the purposeful sounds of a United States Prosecuting Attorney headed their way.

"Cheri, sorry I'm late. Some crazy environmentally loving Prius driver that I could swear was your father cut me off as I was coming around the corner in the parking structure. I spilled coffee all over my car. Lucky thing he didn't stop, I would have sued his ass for making me look unladylike looking for napkins to clean up the mess. Now, show me what you've got on this Benson case." She noticed something in both of their expression flicker for just a moment before they turned their attention to the case at hand, but she didn't say anything about it at all. She figured it was just one more moment of puppy love denial.


	7. Chapter 7

"I wonder what's taking my dad so long to get back." Brennan glanced over at Booth who was busily signing off on forms while they worked through a stack of paperwork at her apartment. If her father had gone directly there and directly back, he would have been back before lunchtime, as it was, it was pushing eight-forty-five.

Booth glanced up, his expression only partially worried. "Since neither one of us has gotten a phone call from any local law enforcement agencies, I'm going to assume that they haven't gotten themselves arrested." With those three it was entirely possible that they'd decided to take the long way back to Willow River, maybe via Miami for all he knew.

"It's still early." She smirked and then glanced over at the take out cartons scattered across her coffee table that they had polished off an hour or so before.

"Oooh, look at that, Bones is making a joke." He let out a soft chuckle and gently jabbed her in the ribs with his elbow. They'd been sitting here for a couple of hours now and they still had quite a bit of paperwork to get through. Truth was, he'd do paperwork all night if it meant getting to enjoy her company.

She laughed and then gestured at the cartons. "I'm just going to clean these up. Do you want a beer or something?" It was nice having him here, but in the forefront of her mind she had been visiting with the idea that she'd rather have him here just for the sake of being here rather than work.

"Hey, let me help with that." He put the file down that he'd just completed and leaned over to help. Their hands collided as they reached for the same empty carton.

"Okay, fine." She felt her cheeks burning just a little and she felt completely ridiculous that she was having this kind of reaction to Booth, even if she was very attracted to him.

If he noticed the tinge in her cheeks, he didn't say anything, he simply gathered up the cartons she didn't have room for in her hands and followed her to the kitchen, patiently waiting as she did the environmentally friendly thing and separated the garbage by its ability to be composted or recycled. He couldn't help but let an amused smile dance across his face as he watched her.

She glanced up to see him watching her and let out a self conscious lilting laugh. "What?" Things just felt different tonight, enough that even she could feel it.

"Nothing." It was something alright. She was something. "Just appreciative of your efforts to keep the planet green, that's all." The reality was that he felt like he needed to leave some kind of footprint on it, but maybe she had a point about the way she was doing things and he should find another way to leave a mark on the world.

She rolled her eyes, but smiled nevertheless as she finished taking care of the trash. She gestured towards the refrigerator. "Beer?"

"Sure." He found himself trailing along behind her when it probably would have been better if he'd stayed standing where he was.

She pulled two beers out of the refrigerator and turned around to find his chest staring at her through his Van Halen t-shirt. She glanced up and realized just how close and she was sure that it wasn't just because he was thirsty.

He very much wanted to kiss her just then, but instead he reached out and took hold of one of the bottles of beer only to find that she wasn't letting go. Electricity seemed to crackle between them as if they were on the verge of combusting.

She focused on his lips and then his eyes and then his lips again, wondering if this was the moment that they were going to cross over that line and just try this already. As she continued to contemplate, she could hear the sound of her heart beating in her ears and she thought that maybe it was loud enough that he could hear it too.

Booth found himself leaning in, his lips drifting closer and closer to hers until he felt a shock of cold from the beer she held in her other hand that was between them. He stopped. He looked into her eyes and then glanced down at her lips and wondered why he hadn't kissed her yet.

"Beer." It was more of a statement of the first word that came to her mouth rather than an offer to go sit back on the couch and take a break from working.

"Mmmhmm." He leaned in that last little bit and found soft and eager and pliant lips moving against his. His heart was racing and he wanted to pull her closer, but the damn beer was in the way. He pulled back and her lips followed. He let out a soft chuckle against her mouth as he tugged one beer out of her hand and then the other and fumbled to set them on top of the refrigerator as her arms wound themselves around his neck. Oh, yes, this was far more intoxicating than any beer.

Brennan didn't know what she was thinking, or if she was thinking. She just knew that she was kissing Booth and she didn't want to stop.

They stood there for quite a few minutes just savoring the fact that after all this time they were kissing each other and they were in no hurry to stop. The paperwork could wait for a while and the beer could be swapped out for colder ones from the fridge. The rest of the evening seemed to stretch out before them with nothing more important than experiencing this nice little make out session in the middle of her kitchen.

The rattle of the front door startled them apart a little breathless and a bit rumpled.

"Hey, honey." Max Keenan smiled broadly as he step inside the apartment and turned to close the door. Out of the corner of his eye he could see two people standing in the kitchen. "Hello, Booth."

"Dad. Booth and I were just…" She smoothed her blouse as her words trailed off and she went over to greet her father, gesturing towards the chair next to the couch where she and Booth had been working.

"Getting a couple of beers." Booth picked right up where she left off. "You want one, Max?" He'd already scooped the two off of the top of the fridge and he reached for the door to secure a third.

"That would be great." Something was different. Max narrowed his gaze at them to see if he could tell what it was that seemed off. A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth as he registered their appearances. They both seemed a bit disheveled. He took the beer that Booth offered and sank down into the chair, taking note that they seemed to purposely be sitting further away from each other on the couch than normal.

Brennan looked over at Max. "I didn't expect you to take so long." It was a simple statement to her father and she tried to tone down her smile as she took a sip from her beer.

"I didn't realize you'd imposed a curfew." He winked at her and then glanced at Booth with a look that said he knew something was going on and he knew how to hide bodies if necessary.

"Just making sure that Pops and Bernice didn't kidnap you for a cross country road trip in Bones' Prius." Booth was only half kidding. With all of the trouble the pair had managed to get into on their short trip to DC, they could probably give Max Keenan a run for his money.


	8. Chapter 8

Even though they'd worked through most of the stack of paperwork, the remaining files seemed like a mountain to Booth with Max sitting there slowly enjoying a cold beer and smiling like he knew something that he had no business knowing about. He wasn't sure how much actual work was going to get done the rest of the evening when all he wanted to do was kiss Bones again. Something he wasn't even going to try with Max eyeing them for some telltale flinch.

"Did you enjoy your trip up to Willow River?" Brennan was curious as to why her father had taken so long to return and she reasoned that he must have enjoyed Hank and Bernice's company.

"Nice place." Max eyed Booth suspiciously for a moment and then smiled at Tempe. "I got the full tour and stayed for dinner." He wasn't going to mention that he had been eyed by the ladies at Willow River like a piece of tenderloin steak in a room full of starving refugees.

"You thinking of moving to a retirement home, Max?" Booth wasn't sure to be hopeful or afraid.

"Nah, I'm far too young to be living with a bunch of old folks. Although I did enjoy chatting with your grandfather, Booth." Max smirked. "Told me some great stories."

"What kind of stories?" Booth didn't want to sound panicked, he was proud of the man he'd become, but he certainly hoped that Pops hadn't shared any of his more embarrassing exploits from his youth. That was definitely not ammunition he wanted Max to have in his arsenal.

"Oh, he enjoyed telling me all about his days as an MP." That wasn't the only thing he'd shared, but Booth didn't need to know that. They'd had quite the conversation all about Booth and Tempe and what the three of them could do to move things along between them a little faster.

"I'm sure he did." Booth looked and sounded skeptical, but it was subtle enough that Bones didn't seem to be catching it. He glanced at the clock and realized that if he sat here much longer he was going to have another beer and then he wouldn't feel comfortable driving home. He really didn't want to spend another night on the couch when he had a perfectly good bed at home, especially while Max was here.

"I would like to hear some of Hank's stories." Brennan needed a distraction from the man sitting on the other end of the couch from her. While she had thoroughly enjoyed kissing Booth, she wasn't exactly sure what was happening between them and she felt like she needed to clear her head. The fact that she'd read the first page of the file she was holding three times was an indication that her ability to form rational thought had been compromised.

"Hank would probably tell them better, Honey." Max smiled at his daughter and nearly let out a chuckle at how thick the tension in the room was. He feigned a yawn and set the nearly empty bottle of beer on a coaster on the coffee table. "I think I'm just going to turn in."

"Dad, I should change the sheets on the bed." They'd been in such a rush that morning that she hadn't had a chance to replace the linens in the guest room since Hank and Bernice had stayed there. She stood up, glad to have an excuse to put the file down that she still had no idea which case it was for.

"I can do that, Honey. Besides, you and Booth have...uh...work to do." Max smiled knowingly at the pair, taking note of the hint of pink that tinged Tempe's cheeks. He pulled himself out of his chair, leaving his beer on the coaster just in case he needed a reason to change his mind and come back out and finish it.

"Yes, yes, we do have work to do." She got up from the couch anyway. "But I'll get you a fresh set from the closet." A little distance from Booth for the moment could be a good thing.

"I'll just put that bottle in the recycling." Booth felt some semblance of relief that Max was going to be leaving the room, and he quickly grabbed the bottle as well as the ones he and Bones had emptied and headed into the kitchen. If nothing else, maybe he could get his head straight so he and Bones could through some more of that paperwork. That or maybe he should think about going home for the night.

"Thanks, Booth." Well that ruined that backup plan and Max decided that he might as well just turn in for the night rather than spy on the pair unless he could come up with some other reason to interrupt.

After he'd put the beer bottle in the recycling, Booth turned his attention back to the stack of files. With Max out of the room it seemed far more manageable and he flipped one open and began reviewing where he needed to sign off on things before putting it in a stack for Bones. He'd gotten through a couple of files before he heard her come back in the room.

"Did you want another beer?" She knew that she could use one and if they still had work to do it might not be a bad idea, although it might actually be a bad idea because her thoughts were jumbled and they had work to do.

Booth shook his head and cast a glance at her. "I should probably go, Bones." He really didn't want to, but he didn't think it would be a good idea to end up making out with her on the couch with her father in the next room. If Max hadn't been there, things might be different.

Her brow was furrowed. "I thought we were going to finish up the files." She gestured to the stacks on the coffee table and then sat down next to him, far closer than she had when her dad had joined them.

His eyes hadn't left her and his lips quirked into a smile. "I'm not sure how much of this we're going to be able to get done tonight."

Her smile back was accompanied by a soft lilting laugh. "There isn't that much left to do, Booth." Surely they should be able to wrap things up rather quickly if they just focused on the task at hand.

He nudged her with his elbow and then wondered if he was being a complete idiot because all he wanted to do was kiss her. "I'm pretty distracted right now. I'm not sure that I can give my entire focus to completing those files properly."

"Distracted." Her lips pulled into a smirk. "I assure you that my dad has no interest in what is in these files." She was fairly certain his distraction was only party attributable to Max being in the other room.

Booth laughed at her in disbelief. "Trust me, I wasn't really distracted by Max wondering what's in those files." He glanced at her lips and then looked into her eyes thinking that he really needed to leave before he kissed her again and Max walked out and exposed something that they hadn't really talked about and defined. What was between them was theirs and he wanted to leave it that way for a little while until he knew she wasn't going to have second thoughts.

"Oh." Her smirk turned into a smile. "I suppose we could finish these tomorrow then." She was very interested in kissing him again and she leaned in as if she intended to do just that.

He found himself being pulled towards her, and his lips were nearly on hers when he abruptly pulled back. "Look, we shouldn't be doing this."

Brennan looked surprised. "Why?" She had thought he wanted this as much as she did. She wondered if he viewed the kiss they'd shared in the kitchen as a mistake. She pulled back.

He knew immediately that she'd gotten the wrong idea and he reached out and enveloped her hand with his. "Your dad is in the next room."

"And if he wasn't?" Her eyes held his as she felt her heart beating wildly.

"I wouldn't have stopped just now." The look in his eye was clear that if Max hadn't been nearby that he would have been more than happy to pick up where they'd left off in the kitchen.

"Is this...are we...what...?" Brennan's words trailed off as she realized she wasn't sure what question she should be asking.

"I think we are and maybe we should talk about this later. Tomorrow?" He didn't want this conversation to slide, but he also knew that they needed to finish off this paperwork, track down some leads in their case and when Bernice's fifty-four Century was repaired they were going to have to get it back up to Willow River.

"Okay. Yes. Tomorrow." She nodded and smiled as she felt him give her hand a squeeze.

"Tomorrow then." He quickly gathered up the files, did his best to resist kissing her and then headed for the door, smirking at the way she was following along behind him. He turned as he opened the door to see if she planned on following him all the way home.

"Your jacket. I thought you might need your jacket." Brennan held it out as Booth turned to face her.

"That jacket belongs to Max." He raised an eyebrow at her as she took a step towards him and pulled the door closed behind them as they moved into the hallway outside her apartment. Whatever questions he had about why she'd followed him were answered when he found himself kissing her back with gusto.

A few moments later, Brennan pulled back acting perfectly normal. "I'll see you tomorrow then." With that she turned and went back into her apartment leaving Booth standing there with a shit eating grin.


	9. Chapter 9

Booth heard the jingle of the bell on the door to the diner and he didn't need to look as he heard the familiar footfalls heading in his direction, he simply smiled at her as his partner slipped into the seat across from him. "Morning, Bones."

"Good morning." A soft smile played at the edges of her mouth as she settled herself in the seat and motioned for the waitress to bring her coffee and her usual. She felt uncharacteristically nervous as she regarded the man who she'd been kissing the life out of less than twelve hours before.

"I've gone through most of the files, so if you want to start with these we can get all caught up." He gestured towards the larger of the two stacks of files from the night before and studied her to see if she was opening up or shutting him out after what had transpired between them the night before. His brow pinched together as he realized she seemed disappointed.

"Oh, yes, the files…I thought you wanted to discuss…the files." She let her words trail off as she fished into her bag for a pen and considered that maybe she'd misread the situation. She reached for the first file only to find Booth's hand covering hers and giving it a squeeze. She looked up to find a soft cozy expression that made her metaphorical heart flip.

"We will…I just thought if we started with the files…just in case I kinda freaked you out last night, I wanted to give you an out." He gave her hand another squeeze and then let it drift back to his coffee cup for something safer to hold onto.

"I found you to be an excellent kisser." She had a vulnerable smug expression on her face as she continued. "But then I already knew that you were."

He let out a soft chuckle, his eyes twinkling brightly. "So then, was that a no on the freak out part?"

She shook her head and let out a soft laugh of her own. "I am experiencing a certain measure of trepidation over what all of this means, however, I am prepared to accept the anecdotal evidence that it is a normal byproduct of a newly formed romantic relationship."

"So we're doing this then." He couldn't have been more pleased if he tried. His grin could have illuminated the inside of a black hole.

"Yes." Her brow quirked a bit. "Unless you're having second thoughts." She knew what she wanted; however, she should have confirmed with him that it was what he wanted too.

"Don't have to think twice, Bones. I know." Oh and did he. Any second guessing that he'd done about whether he was right for Bones had been torpedoed and sent abroad with the woman he should have never tried to be with. As for whether Bones was right for him, he'd never had any doubts.

"Do you think that the FBI will try to split us up when they find out that we're going to be seeing each other socially?" Her concern was well founded, but it was something that she'd considered before she'd decided that the risk to be with Booth in a more meaningful was far exceeded the risk of possibly losing their working relationship.

Booth snickered at how formal she was being. "I think half the Bureau assumed that we already were…well at least before."

"Before Hannah." Before she'd rejected him and had run off half way across the world to clear her head and gain some perspective, nearly missing an opportunity that she had found she wanted very much.

"Yeah." There was a bit of sadness around his eyes, not because things hadn't worked out with Hannah, but because if he hadn't pushed the issue with Bones, maybe he could have saved having his heart broken twice in the span of a year.

"But you are no longer with her, you're with me." Brennan's smile was pleased and proud and a little possessive.

"Yes, yes I am with you." He couldn't resist, he reached out and caught her hand again, giving it a squeeze before letting his hand return to his cup of coffee. He caught a flash of someone out of the corner of his eye and then looked back at Bones. "Sweets at three o'clock."

"What? I don't recall having a session scheduled with Dr. Sweets." Her brow furrowed as the waitress silently delivered her usual order of coffee, oatmeal and fruit.

"No, I mean he's outside at three o'clock." Really if he was being accurate, it would have been the nine o'clock position from where Bones was sitting.

"Why would he be outside at three? He's outside right now and it's just before eight. Is he planning on standing outside for a particular reason?" She looked at him in confusion.

"It's an expression, Bones. And I just meant he's coming this way and that maybe we should put the kibosh on talking about us when his shrinky-dink skills have been well rested." He smirked.

"Ah, right." She drew out her words conspiratorially. "What's between us stays between us."

"Just until we sort it all out, and then I'm all for shouting it from the mountain tops." His grin was infectious.

"It would be quite likely that no one would be able to hear you from such a distance, so in fact, the secret would be quite safe." She smirked back as the jingle on the door signaled Sweets' arrival.

"Dr. Brennan. Agent Booth." Sweets smiled at the pair as he slid uninvited, but seemingly not unwelcome at the table.

"Hey, Sweets." Booth pushed the files out of the shrink's way to give him a little room. "You got a profile for us yet?"

"I was going to bring it by your office, but yes, basically you're looking for a man or maybe a woman in their mid to late fifties, possibly recently laid off from a career that meant quite a bit to them and have either had to find work at a considerably lower wage and status." Sweets picked up the menu to see if there was anything new and put it right back down as he realized it probably wouldn't matter. He gestured to the waitress for his usual and then addressed the partners who seemed to be having an entire conversation without even speaking.

"That sounds pretty vague." Booth took another sip from his coffee and glanced over at Bones who was working away signing off on files as she ate her breakfast.

"I'm gonna need more to put together a more detailed profile. The identity of the victim for instance." Sweets glanced at the pair and shrugged his shoulders.

Brennan directed her attention at Sweets. "We have come to standstill on identification until Doctor Saroyan completes her examination. I would assume that once I have access to all of the bones, it will be easier to make an identification."

"Of course, I was in no way inferring that your efforts were insufficient." Sweets wasn't sure if she was simply stating facts or interjecting commentary with subtext that he would need to have translated if he was going to understand it

"I know that." Brennan smiled at him. For as soft as she regarded his brand of science, he had definitely proven that there was some value in it when trying to identify and apprehend suspects.

"You do?" Sweets seemed momentarily flustered.

"Yes. Why would I say I did if I didn't?" Surely he should know by now that she didn't say things she didn't mean.

"Look, everyone knows we're all working as hard as we can on this case." Booth felt a little like a referee but before he could say anything else, his phone chirped. "Booth." His brow furrowed as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. Finally, he spoke. "Pops, there's no reason for you and Bernice to hop on a bus and come down here. I told you that I'd get you down here to pick up the car." He glanced over at Bones and a very intrigued Sweets.

Brennan quirked an eyebrow at him. "Hank?"

Booth nodded. "Pop's a cab is going to cost a fortune." He really didn't need the complication of his antsy grandfather and Bernice coming back down to DC to get themselves into more trouble before they took the apparently now repaired car back up to Willow River.

Brennan motioned for him to give her the phone. "May I speak with Hank?"

"What? Hey, Pop's, Bones wants to talk to you." Booth looked at her incredulously but gave her the phone anyway, shooting Sweets a glare for the amusement that seemed to spring up on the shrink's face.

"Hank, it's Temperance." She smiled as she heard the older man launch into some sort of explanation that she assumed he'd also told Booth. When he seemed to have finished, she interjected. "May I suggest that Booth and I could come up there and pick you and Bernice up after we finish up for the day?" She fell silent a few seconds longer. "You could stay in my guest room again and then pick the car up in the morning." She smiled as she seemed to have solved the whole dilemma and ended the call, handing Booth his phone back.

"Why can't we bring them the car?" Booth had been hoping that he could get a chance to slip behind the wheel of that fifty-four Century and have a leisurely drive up to Willow River.

"We're in the middle of a murder investigation, Booth." She smirked at him.

"So Booth's grandfather and his girlfriend stayed with you previously, Dr. Brennan?" Sweets honed right in on that little nugget.

Booth cut him off. "Not important, Sweets." He turned his attention to Bones and gestured towards the files. "I should get to the Hoover, but I'll stop by the lab around noon and pick them up, okay?" He offered a soft smile.

"Yes, I should have them completed by then." She smiled in return and couldn't help but feel a bit more of that metaphorical heart flip. "Would you mind dropping me by the lab?"

"Sure, Bones." That was a fine idea and if he was lucky, he might just have a chance to say good morning to her properly now that they'd decided to step into this epic romance.

Sweets sensed that something was up, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, and before he had a chance to query the pair, they'd both gathered up their things and left the diner, leaving him with the bill.


	10. Chapter 10

"Just out of curiosity, how are Pops and Bernice going to stay in your guest room if your father is still there?" Booth quirked an eyebrow in Bones' direction and hoping that the invitation she'd given over the phone was a direct result of Max heading back to his own residence.

"Oh." Brennan glanced over at Booth. "That is a complication that I had failed to consider. I am under the impression that Dad will be back in his own apartment sometime today."

"Under the impression? That doesn't sound like you, Bones." He smirked, unable to resist the tiny barb.

"Well he indicated that the work would be completed in a few days, which was a few days ago, so if the workmen finish as promised there should be no problem." She smiled a satisfied smile that everything was clear now.

"Have you ever had a contractor do a home improvement or repair job?" For all of her advanced degrees and her love for logic and reason, he certainly thought she was a bit naïve when it came to the wonderful world of dealing with contractors.

"No." She studied him and suddenly she began to doubt herself that she hadn't just walked right into a huge complication without realizing.

"Well they aren't exactly known for being speedy." Booth let out a sigh. "Look, I'll just call Pops and we can bring the car to them. Willow River isn't all that far and then maybe on the way back we can stop somewhere and enjoy an uninterrupted dinner alone." This was turning out better and better, well except for the part that he couldn't ride in the same car as Bones on the way up there.

"Booth, as much as I think that I would enjoy a romantic evening with you, we are in the middle of a murder investigation. Don't you think that should take priority?" She found it mildly amusing that she seemed to need to remind him that they were crime solving professionals.

He worked his face around to keep from laughing, but simply nodded and snuffed out a breath through his nose. "We still have to eat." He was not about to say that he hadn't intended for this dinner to be purposely romantic, just that he wanted some time alone with her. If he even attempted to make the clarification, he was sure that it would unleash a misunderstanding of epic proportions, a risk he was not about to take.

"You just ate breakfast and you're already planning your next meal." She smirked.

"Technically, I'm hopeful that lunch is my next meal." He winked as he wheeled the SUV into the parking structure at the Jeffersonian, silently cursing as he noticed just how many people had decided to wait until the last possible moment to get to work. Clearly kissing Bones before he dropped her off was not going to happen.

"Then let's discuss this at lunch. I'll call my father between now and then and perhaps we can develop a more informed plan of action." She gathered her things and leaned in towards him as if she was thinking about kissing him.

"Bones, there are people everywhere." He looked into her eyes. He really thought they should make certain they were on the same page before making an unintentional announcement before they had even gotten their minds wrapped around the idea.

"Yes, you're correct." She glanced around and noticed a sizeable number of people strolling past the front of the SUV, smiling at her and Booth. Clearly she was not using her best judgment when the chemical processes in her brain were thrown out of kilter by being this close to Booth.

"See you at lunch then?" He looked hopeful.

"Yes." She smiled and reached for the handle of the SUV and then stopped. She looked back at him with a very unsure look on her face. "You're sure that you aren't having second thoughts about us are you?"

"No need to." His expression softened. "I just don't want what's happening between us to be the subject of water cooler gossip before we get to have another kiss or twelve."

She let out an uncharacteristic giggle and then attempted a more serious expression. "I will see you around lunchtime then, at which time I hope to kiss you again." To his dubious expression she countered. "I know of some locales within the Jeffersonian where we would likely not be disturbed for some time."

"I do not want to get caught on a security camera making out with you." Although his expression said that he really didn't care as long as they weren't interrupted.

"Who said there were security cameras?" She smirked and then left him to wonder exactly what that meant as she opened the door and slid out, taking her bag and the stack of files along with her.

Booth let out a low chuckle. It was going to be a very long few hours until lunchtime rolled around.

The second he walked into the Hoover, he wasn't at all sure he was going to be able to get away for lunch, let alone drive up to Willow River to pick up Pops and Bernice. How in the hell had he overlooked some damned mandatory training that his calendar had so nicely reminded him of the moment he logged onto his computer? Surely a murder investigation had to trump training and he made a beeline right for Hacker's office to see just how mandatory it was.

Andrew Hacker was finding that having his executive assistant Celia out sick was proving to be inconvenient and he made a mental note to see about making sure she got the maximum cost of living adjustment available during review time as he heard yet another tap on his door. He glanced up to see one of his favorite agents and he waved him inside. "Agent Booth, what can I do for you? How's the Wilson case going?"

Booth knew when he had the advantage and he fully intended to play it right now. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Hacker. Apparently there is some mandatory training that I didn't realize was scheduled because Bones and I have been working nonstop on this case. So while I'd like to give you an update, I won't be able to get that to you today." His lips twitched into an unfortunate smile as if he was apologizing for the mandatory FBI regulations that were hampering his progress.

Hacker couldn't resist smiling at the name of the woman he'd taken out on a handful of dates. "How is Temperance?" He knew she was back in the country, but hadn't managed to catch up with her since she'd returned.

"She's fine." Booth's tone was all business and if Hacker wanted to know something about Bones, he was going to have to pick up the phone and call her himself. Not that it wasn't tempting to let the man know that the ship had sailed and he wasn't even invited to stand on the pier and wave goodbye.

There was just something about Booth's response that had Hacker getting back to the issue at hand. He quirked an eyebrow. "This isn't the training that you're supposed to facilitate is it?" As one of the senior agents in his chain of command, he thought Booth showed a lot of promise in being able to mentor younger agents.

"No, sir, it's not. I believe that Agent McFadden is lined up to do it." And since Booth was fairly certain that he could recite the outline of what McFadden was going to say and that Hacker probably knew it, there shouldn't be any reason why he needed to waste an entire day listening to a junior agent prattle on about something he himself had written.

Hacker glanced at his computer as if it was going to yield the mysteries of the universe to him before letting out a chuckle and looking back at Booth who didn't seem to be all that amused. "Right, so it looks like since you in fact were the one who drafted the training materials, there's no reason to sit in on it, unless you want to give some feedback on McFadden's presentation."

"If there wasn't a murder suspect to hunt down and apprehend, I would be happy to provide Agent McFadden with some feedback." While that was the truth, he was probably stretching it quite a bit so that he wouldn't have to miss heading over to the Jeffersonian later to see Bones and engage in a little training session of their own.


	11. Chapter 11

Seeley Booth was a man on a mission as he strode purposefully towards his partner's office. He had managed to get himself out of some mandatory training in favor of having lunch with Bones away from the eyes and ears of the lab and despite the protests of his stomach he was more than prepared to forego food in order to participate in some partner bonding time. He hardly registered that she wasn't alone as he sauntered into her office without knocking. "Hey, Bones, you ready for lunch?"

Brennan glanced up with a smile, her eye traveling towards the couch to direct Booth to the other occupant of her office. "I just have to finish up this email."

"Lunch." Angela Montenegro-Hodgins scrunched up her nose in appreciation for that little word. "Hodgins is taking forever, but I think his offspring is starving in here." She blanched for a moment at just how that was making her feel and then she let out a soft chuckle. "I think I'm going to come along for lunch if you don't mind."

Booth had half a mind to protest that this lunch hour wasn't supposed to be all about eating food, but he wasn't quite ready to challenge a pregnant woman or announce to her that his lunch plans had included kissing Bones and maybe whatever else they could manage to get away with in the comfort of his SUV. "Uh, yeah, sure." His eyes flashed toward Bones and she only smirked in return.

"If Hodgins is going to be a while, Angela, we could pick something up for him and bring it back." Brennan had been looking forward to spending a nice lunch alone with Booth, but she knew that Angela would be immediately suspicious if they didn't invite her to come along.

"All I want right now are fries from the diner. Unhealthy I know right?" Angela carefully extricated herself from Brennan's couch and with her hand rubbing some sore muscles in her lower back. "I'll just grab my purse." As she waddled towards the doorway, she glanced over her shoulder with a smirk. "This might take a little while."

When Angela was out of earshot, Brennan gave Booth a pointed look. "I thought you were interested in engaging in more affectionate pursuits, why did you invite Angela along?" She wasn't mad, just curious and she let out a soft chuckle at the myriad of expressions that flitted across his face.

He sputtered a bit as he tried to keep his voice down. "What was I going to do? Did you want me to announce to her that we were more interested in spending lunch making out like a couple of horny teenagers?" If her ear to ear grin was any indication, she'd been thinking about it all morning too.

"I'm sure she would have understood. She and Hodgins have engaged in…" She knew that Angela would be overly excited at the news that she and Booth had decided to pursue a romantic relationship.

Booth waved both of his hands in front of him as if he was trying to stop a freight train and squinched his eyes closed. "I do not need or want to know what Angela and Hodgins have engaged in or where. Especially the where part."

A lilting chuckle came from the doorway. "Well I think it's obvious what Hodgie and I have been engaging in." Angela's hand rested on her belly as she took note of the slight panic that flashed across Booth's face. "And don't worry, I won't tell you where." She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Brennan who was still typing away behind her computer.

It seemed Brennan was finally done as she closed her laptop and reached for her purse. "Booth, don't forget the files." She gestured to the stack of files she'd finished up from earlier on the corner of her desk. She knew that if he didn't take them now, they would likely both forget them and it would necessitate either her coming over to the Hoover or him making another trip over to the Jeffersonian when she knew that Caroline would be anxious to get them.

"Oh, right." He smiled and scooped the files up and then followed along behind the ladies as they made their way towards the exit.

They didn't get very far before a slime wielding Hodgins stopped them, gloved hand holding up something that by most estimations could fit the definition for disgusting. "Isn't this the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"

Angela didn't miss a beat. "Way to ruin an appetite, Jack." She gave him one of one of those 'you'd better get that the hell away from me before I throw up on you' looks.

He didn't move, he simply rolled his eyes and held the slimy goo at a safer distance. "You're going to lunch without me?" Not that he could really blame her, it was getting late and she was eating for two. Usually he had to make sure she took a break to eat.

"We can bring you back something, Hodgins." Booth was trying to get the herd moving so he could have a little lunch and then maybe if he was lucky he could get Bones alone for a few minutes for a proper kiss without an audience. However, if he never got them out of the lab, he was going to have to get his lunch to go.

Hodgins wasn't deterred. "This little piece of magic is going to tell us where the victim was and based on the eggs of the yellow hooded willet bug, it's going to tell us when." He looked as if he was expecting to receive a standing ovation for his efforts.

"Well let us know when you have that all worked out." Booth wasn't even going to pretend to fein interest and he found his hand drifting to the small of Bones' back to try and urge the ladies along.

Brennan didn't budge. "How soon do you think you'll have some definitive results?" If it was soon, perhaps they should delay lunch.

"These things take time. I've got to wait for these babies to hatch. It could be hours, or even days. I can't be sure." Hodgins had his standard issue 'are you kidding me' expression on as he replied.

"Great. Okay then. We're all getting lunch." Booth might have pushed a little bit, but this time Bones didn't protest and even Angela was moving quicker than he thought possible.

Before they could get to the SUV, Brennan's phone chirped. "Brennan." She stopped in her tracks rather than move towards the doors like Booth and Angela were. "We're just heading to lunch, Dad." She glanced at Booth who was waving her towards the open passenger door. "I suppose that would be fine. If you meet us at the diner I'll give you the keys." She clicked off and noticed that Booth was still standing there impatiently and she quickly slid into the vehicle.

Once Booth had slid behind the wheel, he looked over at her. "What did your dad want?"

"He said that Hank called him and asked if he could come up and get him and Bernice so they could get the car." It was logical and it would save her and Booth time since they really needed to focus on the case.

"I thought we were going up to pick up Pops and Bernice." He was looking forward to spending time alone with her and now there wasn't any excuse for a long drive.

Angela smirked from the backseat at this little tidbit of information that somehow Brennan's dad and Booth's grandfather not only knew each other, but apparently knew each other well enough to pull favors.

"This way we don't have to and we'll be able to focus on the investigation and we can have dinner with them later at my apartment. Dad said he was getting back into his place today so the guest room should be all ready for Hank and Bernice." She smiled at him and nearly reached over to squeeze his hand before she remembered that Angela was in the backseat.


	12. Chapter 12

Angela regretted ordering fries as soon as she'd eaten a few of them and she was eyeing the cherry tomato that was hiding behind a piece of lettuce on the edge of Brennan's salad plate when Hodgins came breezing into the diner and immediately started blabbing away, seemingly in mid-thought as he slid into the chair next to her. "I am king of the lab. That little beauty I showed you earlier is going to blow the case wide open." He noticed the plate that Angela had pushed away and his stomach took over the conversation. "Oooh, fries."

Angela raised an eyebrow at her husband in amusement. "Well hello to you too, Jack."

Booth stopped mid bite and set his hamburger down. "How is the weird bug going to break the case wide open?" Leads had been hard to come by and so far all they knew was that their victim was a dentist that had been beaten to death with some kind of tool that they'd only narrowed down to the type that might be used to repair vehicles, which of course could be just about anything. Not a very promising lead any way you looked at it.

"I'm getting to that." Hodgins turned his attention to Angela. "Is this all you ordered?" Usually she ate enough to feed a peewee football team.

"It sounded good at the time, but now I'm thinking that Bren's salad is looking a whole lot better." Although, Booth's hamburger was showing some promise too and she leaned towards it as if she was considering pulling his plate over and having a go at it.

Booth picked his burger back up and took a purposeful bite as he gave Angela a warning glance. It was enough that she'd invited herself along to lunch when all he wanted to do was get Bones alone, it was entirely another thing to take his food too.

Hodgins continued munching on fries as he motioned to the waitress and swirled his finger towards Booth and Brennan's plates. "Two of those please."

Brennan finally interjected. "What evidence did you find, Dr. Hodgins?" She reached over and stole one of Booth's fries as she waited for a response. As much as she was glad they had an opportunity to stop and eat, she had hoped for a lunchtime rendezvous with Booth somewhere a bit more private.

Hodgins shoved another fry in his mouth. "Residue on the wings of our little beauty." His tone suggested that he thought this piece of information was monumental.

"Uh, what does that mean in American?" Booth was impatient.

"Engine oil, but not just any engine oil." Hodgins plucked another fry from Angela's plate and grinned wildly as he chewed.

"Jack, get to the point." Angela was feeling impatient herself. Impatient to have this baby, impatient to find food that actually tasted good, and impatient to fit into a cute pair of shoes again.

"The oil was made specifically for Harley Davidson." Hodgins raised both of his brows at Booth. Man to man he was sure that the FBI agent would understand the significance of this find.

"Good work, Hodgins." Booth caught himself from high fiving the bug man.

"How can you possibly know the name of the man the oil was made for?" Brennan looked skeptical that something could be quantified down to that detail in such a short amount of time.

"It's a motorcycle, Bones, a really nice classic American motorcycle." Booth nudged her with his elbow and couldn't help but smile as he caught the hint of her smiling in return.

If Angela hadn't been so distracted by that damn cherry tomato that she'd finally reached across the table to swipe, she might have caught the tiny interaction between the partners. And now that she'd had the tomato, she looked longingly at the salad plates coming their way on the wings of the waitress. Well she didn't actually have wings, but she would in the painting Angela was already planning in her mind.

"Oh, that makes sense then." Brennan smiled and turned her attention across the table. "So what does that mean to the case, Dr. Hodgins?"

"Our victim was probably near a Harley when he was killed. And judging from the particulates in the oil residue, I'd say whoever owns it doesn't keep it up as well as they should." Hodgins didn't waste any time as he dug into the food that had been set before him.

"So what we know for sure is that the insect was near a motorcycle when it was killed." Brennan took a last stab at her salad, wondering where the cherry tomato that she thought she'd saved for a last bite had gotten to.

Hodgins scowled. "Well when you put it like that." His frown disappeared into his burger.

"Or perhaps the victim had a motorcycle and it was stolen and that's why he was killed." Brennan finished her salad and glanced over to see if Booth was done eating. Taking note of the fact that he seemed to be chewing the last remnants of his burger, she gave him a studied look.

"What was stolen?" Max Keenan had slipped into the diner unnoticed and he stood there smiling and hoping he wasn't under suspicion for something he didn't do.

"We don't actually know if anything was stolen." Booth regarded Max with a nod. "We're talking about a case."

"Gotcha." Max turned his attention to Tempe. "Honey, you have the keys?" He looked at her expectantly as she fished into her purse.

"Yes." She handed him the keys. "Dinner is at seven at my place, so if you think the three of you are going to be late, give me a call." He had taken such a long time to get back from Willow River last time that she wanted to make sure they didn't dilly dally.

"Sure, honey." Max glanced around the table. "Are all you kids coming or is it just you and Booth?" He wagged his finger between the partners.

"Just Bones and I." As much as Booth liked Angela and Hodgins, he did not need more people along for the ride for dinner. It was bad enough that Max was getting chummy with Pops and Bernice.

"I have room if Angela and Hodgins want to come." Brennan didn't see any reason why she couldn't entertain everyone for dinner. She was an accomplished cook and rarely had the opportunity to share her skills with her friends.

"Is this a family thing, because I wouldn't want to intrude if this is a family thing?" Angela didn't mean a word she said. Well except for the part about implying that Booth and Brennan were having family oriented get togethers together. She had that look that indicated that she thought maybe there was more to this little gathering than a simple dinner.

"No, Booth's grandfather and his girlfriend are staying the night at my place while they pick up their car because Booth doesn't have a guest room and I do. Also, I thought it would be nice to have everyone over for dinner." It was not only practical that everyone was coming for dinner it would be enjoyable as well. Brennan smiled back at Angela and Hodgins hoping they would accept the invitation.

"Speaking of Hank and Bernice, I'd better get going so we can get back in time for them to get Bernice's car out of the shop." Max had a knowing smile on his face as he turned to leave.

"Wow, you're going to let him take the car out and on a school night too." Angela smirked.

"Angie and I can come." Hodgins spoke up for the both of them. If it meant an evening enjoying people who weren't preoccupied with swollen ankles and whether or not they felt like they were the size of a house, then he was going to take it. Besides, he had a feeling that Angela's Booth and Brennan radar was up about something so the evening had the potential to be highly entertaining.


	13. Chapter 13

Seeley Booth was a frustrated man. He had waited so long to finally take the leap into a romantic relationship with his partner that now that they were actually trying to have one it seemed that the universe was conspiring against them to keep them from being alone together. His brows were furrowed together as he knocked on Bones' apartment door and braced himself for whatever antics the entourage that had been invited over for dinner had in store for them.

Brennan's smile faltered as she opened the door and saw the look on Booth's face. "Is something wrong?" She hoped he hadn't changed his mind and was going to tell her that they had to go back to being just partners.

He stepped inside the apartment and glanced around as he gently shut the door behind him. He kept his voice low as he spoke. "Yes, there _is_ something wrong." He tried to soften his expression as he noticed the worry flash across her face. "We just can't catch a break. We finally decide we want to start something and we can't get a moment alone."

She smirked at him. "Well we're alone right now. Dad called and they're running behind so I'm fairly certain that we have at least twenty minutes."

He didn't hesitate as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close and looked into her eyes. "Twenty minutes, huh?" There were so many things he wanted to do to her, with her, but he wasn't sure that twenty minutes was even close to enough time.

Her hands slid up his chest and then looped around his neck as she leaned in. "And Angela called and she insisted on stopping to buy some wine. She said that just because she can't have any right now doesn't mean that the rest of us should suffer. She and Hodgins will be here in a little while too." She tilted her head a little and openly admired his handsome face.

"They will, huh?" He pulled her even closer and let his forehead rest against hers. He wanted to savor this moment for as long as he could.

She yanked on his tie and closed the distance between their lips, garnering a chuckle from Booth. She immediately regretted the fact that there were other people coming over for dinner and she made a mental note that very soon she was going to make dinner for just Booth and her so that no one could interrupt. She let herself metaphorically melt into him and this kiss that was every bit as enjoyable as the last one they'd shared.

Kissing Bones was better than he'd remembered, better than the loop that had been playing through his mind since that brief moment in her kitchen before Max had interrupted. Air rushed into his lungs as he pulled back just a bit. "I've wanted to do that all day." The truth was, there was quite a bit more that he'd been wanting to do for years.

"I believe that I have also been preoccupied by the desire to kiss you again." Her eyes sparkled as she smiled at him and leaned in again, enjoying the strength of his arms and the firmness of his chest as they just enjoyed the sensation of kissing each other freely. He was an excellent kisser and she was looking forward to when they could be free about expressing their feelings to one another in other ways. Ways that she had to confess she'd fantasized about considerably and she was sure wouldn't disappoint.

The sound of a buzzer coming from the kitchen pulled them apart loosely. She blinked and then realized what the buzzer was all about. "Food. I need to check on the food." She registered the grin on Booth's face and felt the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile.

"Smells good." His cheeks were going to hurt from all of this smiling and he was sure that someone was going to hone right in on this change if he didn't turn down the wattage of his grin very soon.

"I hope everyone likes it." She was tempted to indulge in one more kiss when a knock sounded at the door and changed her mind for her.

"I'll just go answer that." Booth turned towards the door, but found that Bones had grabbed his arm to pull him back. He glanced at her with amusement. "I think they know you're home, Bones."

She reached up and brushed her thumb across the edge of his lips. "You have lipstick..." She smirked at him.

He smirked back and then took in her appearance. "Uh, your hair." Clearly they'd gotten a little carried away. He reached over in an attempt to smooth things down in hopes that no one would notice how rumpled he'd made her.

"You too." She pushed him towards the door hoping he'd take care of his own mussed up hair while she went to pull dinner out of the oven.

He tried to smooth out his appearance and then opened the door to find the dynamic trio of Max, Pops and Bernice smiling at him as if they'd all been up to something. "Bones says dinner is almost ready." He opened the door wide to allow them to come in.

"Smells good." Max eyed Booth suspiciously and with a backward glance he headed towards the kitchen to see if he could be any help.

"Shrimp!" Hank Booth smiled.

"Hey, Pops, did you and Bernice get the car?" Booth certainly hoped that he had, the sooner he could reunite the pair with the classic car, the sooner he could stop worrying about all the trouble they could get themselves into in DC. Willow River retirement home was a far safer place for them to find trouble.

Bernice chimed in as she followed Hank in. "Sparky sure did, and they threw in some slightly crushed motorcycle parts too."

"Huh?" Booth was momentarily confused.

"From that Harley we backed over." Hank looked pretty pleased with himself. "I'm thinking about framing the muffler on my wall as a souvenir. As soon as I clean the bugs off that is."

"Oooh, bugs, I'd love to see those." Hodgins and Angela had made it just in time to overhear Hank talking about bug goo.

"Hodgins, we're here for dinner, not a field trip." Angela rolled her eyes and glanced around the room, smiling as she noticed a very happy looking Brennan pulling something out of the oven and greeting her dad.

"I'm sure Hank wouldn't mind." Hodgins gave her a look and then immediately acquiesced because it was clear _she_ minded. He would at least wait until dessert and maybe he could slip away and convince Hank to show him the bug splatter. "Have I told you tonight that you look beautiful, Angie?" He smiled widely in hopes that would placate her and her surging pregnancy hormones.

She rolled her eyes. "Nice save. I'm just going to go see if Brennan needs any help and bring her the wine." And she thought it might be a good time to give her friend a nice little push in the direction of one extra hunky FBI Special Agent. She'd been doing it for years and one of these days one of those pushes might just close the distance between the pair.


	14. Chapter 14

"This mushroom risotto is amazing, Sweetie." Angela practically cooed over the dish. It seemed that everything she cooked for herself had a very short window of time in which it remained appetizing, but somehow things other people made were always delicious. She wasn't going to question it, she was just going to write it off as another one of those quirky pregnancy things that she was anxious to be over with.

"Thanks, Ang." Brennan smiled at her friend and couldn't help but glance over at Booth who seemed to pick just that moment to sneak a glance at her as well.

"I'm usually a meat and potatoes man, Temperance, but this is wonderful." Hank Booth beamed at his hostess and then glanced over at his grandson who seemed to be mesmerized by the lady anthropologist. He let out a knowing chuckle and shared a look with Bernice and Max.

"So Hank, I'd love to see the bug encrusted muffler." Hodgins seemed oblivious to the reactions of a good portion of the table as he continued eating his meal.

"Nice, Jack." Angela swatted at him with her napkin and then tried to not think about how the mushrooms in the risotto suddenly were looking more insect-like and her appetite began to wane.

"What?" He glanced up and then felt the eyes of one very irritated FBI agent boring into his skull. "Oh, hey." He let out a nervous chuckle and then addressed Brennan. "Dr. B, I'm sure we'd love to have this recipe so we can make it at home." He swallowed hard and then looked at Angela. "Wouldn't we, honey?"

"I'd be happy to share the recipe." Brennan seemed to be the only one at the table that was unfazed by the direction of the conversation.

"I don't know why you'd want to see a bunch of smashed bugs with all these pretty ladies in the room, but suit yourself." Hank winked at Bernice.

Max joined in and lifted his wine glass. "To the ladies."

Angela laughed. "He can't help himself, although, we're working on how to talk around company." She gave her husband a very pointed look that let him know if he brought it up again during dinner he was going to be sleeping alone until this baby decided to come.

"She's right, I can't help myself, I'm the bug and slime guy, it's sort of my thing." Hodgins grinned wildly and only caught on that he was really, really in trouble with the purposeful clinking of a fork against a plate.

"Hodgins." Angela sounded exasperated. She really wanted to enjoy this meal, but he was making it impossible and if the looks on the faces of Bernice, Hank and Max were any indication, it wasn't working for them either.

"Hodgins is in so much trouble." Booth whispered under his breath, but he had a hint of glee in his voice as he took another forkful of the dish Bones had made.

Angela shot the FBI agent a withering glance and then smiled at the elder Booth. "Hank, I hate to ask, but do you think you could go show Jack the nasty muffler so that we can get it over with so we can all enjoy the meal?" She rested her hand on on her baby bump and sighed.

"Well I've always thought it was rude to leave the table in the middle of a meal, but if he's making everyone else lose their appetite, I'd be happy to get it over with." Hank shared a conspiratorial smile with Angela.

"Just don't bring it back inside, okay?" Angela smiled sweetly, but her meaning was clear.

"Oh, yes, please don't do that." Bernice wrinkled up her nose. "I really don't want to think about what that looks like while I'm eating something so delicious."

Hank set his napkin on the table and gave Hodgins a look that Booth immediately was glad was not directed at him. "Let's get this over with." He glanced at the other men at the table. "Shrimp? Max? You coming?" There was no room for discussion in his voice.

"We aren't the ones who want to look at the bugs." Booth wrinkled his nose. He was hoping that Max would side with him and they could avoid a field trip to see the bug goo.

"Well if I have to go look at them, you two have to come too." Hank raised an eyebrow at the men at the table. Hodgins was the only one among them the least bit excited about it.

A kick from under the table hit it's mark.

"Owe!" Hodgins shot a smirking Booth a glare and reached down to rub his shin. "I suppose it can wait until after dinner."

"Thank you." Max for one didn't want to go outside when there was so much more going on inside. He had not a single shred of guilt that had suddenly bought them all a bug free dinner. "Honey, this really is delicious."

"Thanks, Dad." Brennan smiled.

"But if I could just get a quick look..." Hodgins just couldn't let it go.

"Dear God, I swear Jack, can we have one meal without bringing up some smashed up bug goo?" Angela was resigned that they were not going to get any peace until the man got his way.

"So is that a yes?" He didn't waste a second as he put his napkin down and scooted his chair back from the table. "So, Hank, I've got a flashlight in my car and I thought that maybe if you just gave me the keys to Bernice's car, you wouldn't have to miss any of the meal at all."

"Now that's an idea I can get behind." Bernice quickly went and retrieved her purse and handed Hodgins the keys. "Take your time, I'd hate for you to miss out on something you find so enjoyable." She smirked and Hank let out a chuckle.

"Bernice, you are the best." Hodgins caught Angela's eye roll. "Well except for my wife that is." He grinned at the elderly woman and then raced for the door before anyone could change their mind.

Silence reigned for a long few seconds and then everyone let out the giggles, chuckles and snorts that they'd been holding in.

Max piped up. "Angela, no offense intended, but are you sure you couldn't have done better than Dr. Buggo?" He meant no malice, but if the topic of pulverized insects came up at every meal it was a wonder anyone ever ate with this crowd.

"It's Dr. Hodgins, Dad." Brennan interjected. "He's an entomologist."

"He knows that, Bones, it's just most people don't talk about bugs or dead things at dinner." Booth had to resist the urge to reach over and squeeze her hand, but he couldn't help from smiling.

"We talk about dead people over meals." She glanced around the room.

"But most normal people aren't investigating murders." Angela's eyes narrowed as she took a good look at the partners and sensed that something was definitely up. "And it's not like we actually want to discuss death during dinner with all these nice people here. Well except for Jack, who may have his faults, but is a very good hearted man."

"Maybe I should take him aside and let him in on a few secrets about how to talk around the ladies." Hank winked.

"He seems like a nice young man...a little odd, but a nice young man." Bernice knew that the man had to have something going for him for a knockout like Angela to fall for him.

"You don't know the half of it." Booth chuckled under his breath and then took on a more chagrined expression when he caught both Angela and Bones giving him a look.

Ever the schmoozer, Max directed his attention back to Angela. "Well I hope Jack knows what a lucky guy he is."

"I remind him everyday." Angela winked and garnered a round of laughter from the table.

Just then the door opened and a grinning Hodgins rushed in not bothering to shut it behind him. He held the bug splattered muffler aloft as if he'd just found the Holy Grail and addressed the less than thrilled group gathered around the dinner table staring him down. "You are never going to believe what I've found."


	15. Chapter 15

"This bug residue is none other than the splatter of the yellow hooded willet bug!" Hodgins' definitive tone was completely lost on the crowd around the table and he completely ignored the glares coming his way. His tone pitched upwards. "The same yellow hooded willet bug we found at the crime scene." He looked at each person at the table to see if any of them grasped the magnitude of the news he was sharing with them.

"I don't know what that means." Booth looked at Hodgins wishing he had subtitles. Most of the rest of the table just looked annoyed.

"The yellow hooded willet bug is only found in a very small geographic area." He paused. "The very same geographic area that the victim of our current case was found in. Combine that with the presence of a motor oil specifically used in Harley Davidson motorcycles and I think we finally have a viable suspect." Hodgins looked victorious. He was most definitely King of the Lab.

Bernice grabbed Hanks arm protectively. "Sparky didn't do whatever you think he did. I'm his alibi." She was not going to let her man get framed for something she was sure he couldn't have done.

"What?" Booth looked momentarily confused. "No, Pops didn't do anything." He gave his grandfather a second look. "You didn't did you, Pops?" It wasn't like he expected him to say yes, but he was an FBI agent and he had to ask.

"The only thing I've done is back over that Harley that Bozo wouldn't move when he called Bernice that name that no lady should be called." Hank looked pretty pleased about the fact too. He'd be happy to do it again too if it meant defending her honor. And now it seemed he'd helped provide a break in a big case. He would most definitely do it all again.

"I thought his name was Butch." Max chimed in. It was nice that for once he wasn't the one that was under the microscope of suspicion and he found it rather amusing.

Hodgins took a step towards the table as if he planned to set the muffler down. "Well it seems that Butch did more than call people names based on this." He was anxious to get the muffler into the lab and formally confirm his initial findings.

"Dr. Hodgins, don't move." Brennan immediately got up from the table and moved into the kitchen.

Hodgins took another step towards the table.

"And when Bones says, don't move, she means don't move." Booth gave the bug man a warning glance.

"Don't get that thing anywhere near this table, Jack." Angela's tone was firm but clear and she was prepared to back it up.

"Fine, I'll just stand here with a piece of potentially case breaking evidence in my hands." Hodgins sounded a little dramatic.

"Which you don't want to contaminate with mushroom risotto." Brennan returned with a large garbage bag. "We'll need to verify your findings in the lab, but we need to preserve the evidence until then." She held the bag open so that Hodgins could carefully stow it inside. Once that was done, she took the bag and set it on the coffee table in the living room.

"Go wash your hands, Jack." Finding key evidence was one thing, but bringing it back to the dinner table was completely another.

"Actually, he should have thought of that before he touched the muffler." Brennan had that raised eyebrow that she usually reserved for first year grad students as she walked back to the table.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that I was going to find evidence crucial to a murder investigation?" Hodgins brushed his hands together.

Angela raised an eyebrow of her own and pointed towards the kitchen sink. "Wash. You are not coming back to the table with bug goo on your hands." If she ever had any doubt about whether she was ready to be a mother, she had to consider that husbands were perfect training for children, at least her husband was.

"Yes, my love." Hodgins grinned wildly and then went to wash up in the kitchen.

"So I guess it was a good thing I stood up to Butch then. If we'd just walked out of that bar, you'd never have the key to your murder." Hank grinned at Shrimp and then glanced over at Bernice before leaning in and kissing her on the cheek.

"We would have caught up to him sooner or later. I still say that the idea of the two of you frequenting biker bars is a bad one." Booth was not about to condone anything that had let up to bailing Pops and Bernice out of jail. Besides next time, and he hoped to God that there wasn't a next time, they might not be so lucky to get away by just being arrested.

"We don't know that, Booth. We are the best, but sometimes we don't always catch all of the criminals." It was the truth and while Brennan had the utmost confidence in both her and Booth's abilities as crime solvers, they occasionally had one that slipped through their grip.

"We most definitely are the best!" Hodgins slipped into his chair and picked up his glass of wine. "To the squints and our honorary squints who accidentally helped solve a murder." He gestured towards Hank and Bernice.

"The key phrase there is accidental." Booth noted the slightly hurt look on his grandfather's face and backtracked a little. "Not that we aren't greatly appreciative that things turned out okay, but you and Bernice should be focusing on enjoying your life together and that really cool car and let Bones and I solve murders."

Someone cleared their throat rather loudly.

Booth rolled his eyes. "Okay, and the squints too."

"Because we all solve murders. All of us together." Angela chimed in with a smile and lifted her glass of water to toast the rest of the table. "Even if sometimes it's accidental."

"Here, here." Hank lifted his drink and everyone clinked their glasses together.

"Of course we still have to verify that that is in fact the yellow hooded willet bug and that we can actually tie Butch to it." Brennan smiled. "Because we have not scientifically done that yet."

"Of course we do, Sweetie." Angela's tone held an amused smile.

"We will." Hodgins was confident in his assessment. He was after all very good at his job.

"Didn't you mention that you made a dessert, Honey?" Max really wanted to get the conversation back to a less crime related topic. He was more interested in seeing if he could hone in on whatever was going on between his daughter and Booth and dessert and coffee seemed like the perfect time to do that.

"Yes, I did." Brennan could see that everyone besides Hodgins seemed to have finished their meals and it seemed like an ideal time to start clearing the table and dish up dessert.

"Oh, what did you make, Bones? Any chance you made apple pie?" Booth's tone was cajoling and he grinned unabashedly. One of these days he was going to get her to eat some of his pie and then she would realize just how amazing it was.

"No, I did not make apple pie. You know I don't like my fruit cooked." She had a twinkle in her eyes as she smirked at him.

Angela mumbled under her breath. "Oh, you might not like your fruit cooked, but I bet something is cooking between the two of you."

"What was that, Ang?" Brennan glanced up knowing her friend had said something.

"I just thought you might need some help in the kitchen with that, since Bug Boy here is still eating." She smirked, her relational spidey senses were in overdrive at the moment and she was definitely picking up on something.


	16. Chapter 16

"How crazy would it be if that muffler really was the break in the case?" Angela was helping Brennan serve up something she couldn't quite identify but wasn't about to question because it smelled delicious.

"Not crazy at all. In fact the insect residue proves to be what Hodgins believes it is then it would in fact be the break in the case we've needed." It was rather logical and if Hodgins was able to confirm his assumptions then they might have enough evidence to get a warrant to arrest Butch and then people would stop killing each other long enough that she and Booth could have an evening alone.

"Of course, what was I thinking?" Angela inwardly rolled her eyes and continued to help dish the mystery dessert up.

"That is a rhetorical question isn't it?" Brennan smirked.

"Yes, it is, but you have to admit that Booth's grandfather being the reason we got the muffler in the first place is a bit crazy." She let out a soft chuckle.

"Booth would say that it was some sort of divine intervention when in reality it is simply a series of remarkable coincidences." She smiled at her friend, hesitating for a moment as if she wanted to say something and then changed her mind as she pulled out spoons for each dessert.

"Of course." Angela could see a flicker of something and just when she thought there might be a crack in the facade, it disappeared. "I have a feeling that as soon as we go back in there, people are going to scatter like the wind, starting with Jack."

"I don't know what that means." She was sure it was some sort of analogy.

"What I mean is, Jack will want to take the bug goo back to the lab and then Booth will run off to get a warrant and I'm sure your dad will get going as soon as Hank and Bernice head off to bed." She was fishing for a good girl chat, but she wasn't sure Brennan was biting.

"Booth will wait to ask for a warrant until after we can verify his findings. I'm sure he won't be doing that tonight." She hoped he wouldn't rush off, she had hopes for a goodnight kiss at the very least, even if they had to sneak around to get it.

"Bones, you ladies need some help?" Booth eyed Angela suspiciously for a moment and then smirked as he noticed the desserts all lined up ready to take into the dining room. It wasn't that he'd drawn the short straw, but the rest of the table was starting to get a bit restless for the mystery dessert Bones had made.

"I for one will never turn down help from a hunky FBI agent." Angela gave him one of those looks that made it clear she thought something was up before she picked up two plates and left the kitchen.

He whispered. "Is she pumping you for information about us?" He knew that the wall partition hid them from the view of the others and he was tempted to just lean in and kiss her.

She found herself drifting towards his smile. "No more than usual." She closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his, not quite caring that there was a room full of people on the other side of the wall. She pulled back before they could get carried away and then she reached for two desserts and made her way into the dining room as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all.

He tried to tone his smile down a bit before he gathered the last of the desserts and followed her back to the table. He was really looking forward to trying this dessert that Bones had made and after setting one in front of Pops and the other in front of Max, he sat down and dug his spoon in. He took a bite and smiled at Bones. Yes, this was definitely tasty creamy crunchy goodness.

"Honey, this is really good." Max smiled at his daughter, but there was a glint in his eye as if he had caught onto something that no one else in the room had.

"Thank you, Dad." Brennan was pleased that the Moroccan custard was so well received. It was very simple, but very visually appealing and delicious.

"Booth, I think you need a napkin." Max had a subtle but victorious look on his face as he gestured at the FBI agent's mouth.

"Huh?" Booth was pretty sure he hadn't spilled any of his dessert yet and he ignored Max's suggestion and took another bite.

"I think Tempe got some of her lipstick on you." Max chuckled at the response around the table and clapped Booth on the back when he nearly sucked his dessert right into his windpipe. Payback was a bitch.

If there were any doubt that his assessment was correct it was validated by the fourteen shades of caught red lipped that both Booth and Brennan were wearing. Much to the delight of their dinner guests who couldn't stop smiling at this monumental revelation.

Hodgins was the first one to break into the silence. "Whoa, look at the time. I...I mean we have evidence to examine and validate." He knew that Angela would like nothing more than to stay and watch the pair in the same way he watched fly eggs hatch, but he was a smart man and he knew that the best thing right now was to give these two some space.

Angela was going to take the hint, but she was going to get details later whether Bren wanted to dish them or not. "And I need to start working up a reasonable simulation of how the bugs were transfered to the muffler and onto our victim."

"Are you leaving?" Brennan thought that everyone would stay a little longer and now that it seemed that things between she and Booth had been let out of the box she was surprised that of all people Angela was leaving.

"Uh, we really should, and then we have that other thing we need to take care of." Hodgins shot Angela another look just in case she was about to change her mind.

"Yeah, _that_ thing." Angela couldn't hide her smirk. The only thing on her and Jack's agenda was a little nookie.

Hank piped up. "And Bernice and I forgot to tell you that we were gonna splurge and stay at a swanky hotel to celebrate helping you solve your case."

"We just forgot to mention it." Bernice couldn't help but smile.

"We _just_ found out that the muffler had relevance while we were all sitting here at the table." Booth was calling Pops' bluff. He didn't believe that any of them had to run off as quickly as they were fleeing the scene.

"Fine then, Shrimp, now that it seems that the two of you have come to your senses, we all just want to make sure you don't change your mind. We're just going to give you a little alone time." Hank's tone left no room for argument.

"I should be going too." Max looked very pleased with himself. He had outed the pair and couldn't be more pleased if he tried. He whispered a veiled threat to Booth. "You hurt her and I'll kick your FBI ass."

Before either Booth or Brennan could form much of a protest, everyone had gathered their things and was making their way out the door, offering their hugs and well wishes as they left.

Brennan finally clicked the door shut and Booth glanced over at her. All he'd wanted for days was to have a few uninterrupted minutes alone with her. Now that he had his wish, all he could do was grin.

She let out a soft chuckle at the strange turn of events and then her eyes met his and she felt the corners of her mouth curl up into a smile. "That was very odd."

"But very convenient." He walked over to where she stood by the front door and stopped right in front of her. "I'm fairly certain no one is going to bother us at least until morning."

She tilted her head thoughtfully and she took a step towards him, her hands sliding up his chest. "Morning, huh?"

He nodded, his arms winding around her waist and pulling her close. "Yeah." This was the place where he was meant to be. Where they were meant to be.

"Okay then." She smiled at him and then he kissed her.

**_The End_**


End file.
